Festive Friday for Halloween

With Autumn in full swing, leaves falling and temperatures doing the same, it can only mean that Halloween can't be far behind. Halloween is one of the favorite holidays for children and Christine Jensen and Barbra Jones hosted Festive Friday to give Emery County some fun ideas for decorating, costumes and food to celebrate.

As usual, the Friday party was presented in the county building at noon. The luncheon looked spooky but was very appealing considering the time of year. Sloppy Joes were the order of the day, with cheese balls shaped like pumpkins and Frankenstein, along with a skeleton made from vegetables, with a special "brain dip." Several kinds of cookies also adorned the tables.

Jensen gave the attendees some great ideas for handling and storing fresh pumpkins, along with some great ideas for carving or painting on the faces. Several recipes for home made face paint were available and some ideas to create realistic looking fake wounds.

Another great idea came in the form of how to make an inexpensive costume from a box. Any larger box can be made into anything from cowboys riding bulls to spacemen. Halloween songs and jokes were handed out for inspirations to make any childrens party a smashing hit.

One especially fun recipe was for fresh, cut-up vegetables to be arranged to form a skeleton. The one on display was made from celery, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers, mushrooms, bell peppers and carrots. The skeleton was arranged with a bowl of "brain dip" for the head. The brain dip consisted of Ranch dressing with lettuce leaves around the edge. Jensen reminded everyone that children will be more likely to eat things they helped to prepare.

To make the pumpkin cheese ball, take two eight ounce packages cream cheese, softened and mix with one half teaspoon dried minced onion, one half teaspoon dried chives, two cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, two teaspoons paprika, and one half teaspoon cayenne pepper. Mix ingredients together and shape into a round ball. Refrigerate for at least four hours to set the shape. Use a butter knife to form the vertical lines to resemble a pumpkin. Insert a celery rib or broccoli for the stem of the pumpkin. Serve with crackers, fresh vegetables, or sliced apples.

This recipe can be colored green and shaped into a square and decorated to become a Frankenstein also.

Many of the people who attended Festive Friday bring their own creative, inexpensive ideas to share for the next holiday. Festive Friday will be held again in November with ideas for Thanksgiving.